‘One of the 8 Films To Die For‘ from the After Dark Horrorfest, The Abandoned departs from the current Hollyweird trend of ‘gore is more’ to tell the honest ghost story of separated twins (played by Anastasia Hille and Karel Roden) who return to the Russian homestead of the parents they never knew . . . only to discover they’re being haunted . . . by ghosts of themselves. The characters are interesting (and sure, they could be developed a bit more - but it is, after all, a horror film), and the story is well told. It’s a unique take on the ‘old haunted house’ that’s been done to death, which makes it a film worth watching if you like to think a bit while you’re being scared to death in a dark room at 2AM.
Technorati Tags: The Abandoned, 8 Films To Die For, Anastasia Hille, Karel Roden, hainted house, Russian
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If you like your movies multi-media (that’s right - this one is subtitled), Exiled promises to be a unique action/drama.
Recently acquired for DVD release in the English-speaking world, Exiled is a Toronto Film Festival winner from heralded Hong Kong director Johnny To. It’s a stylized and artistic modern gangster flick. The cinematography is spectacular, making the camera itself as integral to the story as any actor on the screen.
The film itself documents two hit men on a mission to take out one of their own - a professional killer who has opted out of the business to protect his wife and daughter amid a dangerous political upheaval.
Expect non-traditional action, both from an American and an Asian frame-of-reference, well-developed characters, and a unique look and feel on the screen.
Technorati Tags: Exiled, Johnny To, Foreign Film, Asian, Hong Kong, hit men, Toronto Film Festival
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The undeniably hot Kate Beckinsale and the perpetually almost famous Luke Wilson take themselves far too seriously in this film that doesn’t know it’s a B-movie. Beginning like every campfire ghost story, a couple has car trouble on an old country road, finds a lonely gas station attended by a bumbling stoner who - shocker! - can’t repair the car until tomorrow morning, forcing them to spend the night in a dated roach motel run by - surprise! - serial killers who tape their crimes in the very room where the couple is staying - oh my! Nothing exciting happens as the couple tries to escape by every traditional and predictable method, each time discovering their captors see and control everything - even the miraculously discovered ’secret’ passages. In the end, it doesn’t matter if the couple lives or dies, unless the viewer is particularly distressed by the sight of pretty people bleeding from everywhere but their glamorous faces, which will certainly remain intact.
Technorati Tags: Vacancy, Kaye Beckinsale, Luke Wilson, B-movie, serial kiler, campfire, ghost stories
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The Lookout plays more like a book than a film . . . something for which I, as a writer, have a great appreciation. This piece is a more refined and relaxed approach to believable identities - emotions, reactions, motives, and reasons for behaviour - than about squeezing skeletal personalities between big visuals and plot-driven narrative. It is well paced, taking its time, allowing the characters space to develop to the point that the bank heist (which some misguided and less insightful folk might mistakenly argue is the subject of the film) is merely a backdrop for the relationships and reactions of the people involved. We’ve certainly seen elements of this story on many prior occasions, but it hardly matters in this instance due to the artful and crafted storytelling. If, as Mr Harlan Ellison says, all stories are truly about people, then most of Hollywood is missing it while films like this one have gotten it right.
Technorati Tags: The Lookout, character, story, Harlan Ellison, Hollywood, DVD
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